The Bank of America Tower is now illuminated at night, shifting from blue to green to gold, thanks to energy-efficient lights from Philips.

By STEVE CUOZZO
December 28, 2010

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The City That Never Sleeps has a new reason to stay up at night.

In the past few days, without fanfare, the Durst Organization lit up the previously dark spire atop 1 Bryant Park, aka the Bank of America Tower, at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street. The ornamental shaft -- rising to 1,200 feet, taller than the Chrysler Building's -- now pulsates from blue to green to gold.

At the same time, the broadcast antenna of developer Douglas Durst's 4 Times Square next door was similarly illuminated in a surprise move, making for a choreographed duet above 42nd Street. Although Durst was known to be planning something fun for the top of 1 BP, he'd kept the work on 4 TS under wraps.

The effect is arresting from any vantage point. Viewed from the Queens waterfront, for example, 1 BP appears to be courting the Chrysler Building in a graceful pas de deux.

Eventually, Durst told us, he hopes the tower tops will "play off" a proposed illuminated spire at 1 World Trade Center downtown, where he's partnering with the Port Authority. The 1 WTC shaft will reach to a symbolic 1,776 feet above ground.

Durst's $3.5 million Midtown lighting scheme was created by Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design and installed during the course of a year by Fred Geller Electrical. The spires are lit from dusk to midnight. Like the rest of 1 Bryant Park, which is LEEDS Platinum-Certified, the lights are energy-efficient.

The 368 LED floodlights on the tower tops are made by Philips Color Kinetics. The total power consumption of about 18.4 KW is believed to be much less than at other illuminated skyscraper tops.

__________________NEW YORK. World's capital.

“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.

Has only one of the 'television' screens been put up? I consider them to be the only redeeming quality of the strange top. I hope they put screens on all 4 sides. Very Blade Runner.

Turns out nobody wants to advertise 50 floors up, which was the whole point of the screens. If and when we get robots and flying cars, the infrastructure is there. Until then, they're sticking with the one unless enough advertisers show interest.

Turns out nobody wants to advertise 50 floors up, which was the whole point of the screens. If and when we get robots and flying cars, the infrastructure is there. Until then, they're sticking with the one unless enough advertisers show interest.

That’s unfortunate, because it’s really no different than a company having its logo branded on top of a building, such as MetLife right down the street.

If I remember correctly some software company had an advertisement on the Westside about a decade ago when the building was brand new, however, they went bust and so did the advertisement.

__________________"I'm going there, but I like it here wherever it is.."

One of my favorite buildings in New York, if not the world. I remember watching this baby rise when I was working at 36th and 10th. This was back in 1998 or so, and I had an 18th floor view of the tower's construction. The internet was still in its "dial up" days, and renderings were hard to come by. Bottom line, I had no idea what this building's top would look like. All the sides of the building were different, and I kept imagining how they would "bring it all together" with the crown and/or spire. The suspense was killing me.

Every day I watched the progress, my imagination ran wild. Then, one day, the glass facade stopped rising with the steel framework... then it was just the steel framework - now setback - going up, leaving the glass behind. Slowly, the tower's spire began to emerge. Then it all made sense. I thought to myself, "absolutely incredible", and it was such a cutting edge design for its time. The building had a "Jekyl and Hyde" quality to it, appearing different from all angles. This was no boring generic glass box, there was no uniformity. The building was wild and untamed, a characteristic further defined by its open framework top. Oddball? You bet, but a crazy, exciting and futuristic addition to a city populated with boring carbon-copied international-style boxes. Yes, the framework spire did appear unfinished, but that sat well with me. Atlanta's BofA Tower has a see-through spire, and many buildings in Australia have open-framework spires. I still found this building to be simply stunning, a true masterpiece. And the advertising boards were just wacky... kinda tacky, but perfect for this tower and its location.

What I love about Conde Nast is that it has a personality all its own; a personality as complex as the many moods and attitudes of a human being. Viewing this tower from different angles makes me feel different vibes, my mood changes depending on what direction I view the tower from. The building has its professional side, its fun side, its depressing side, its aggressive side, its gentle side, its elegant side, and its blue-collar industrial side. Conde Nast emanates all of the varying moods and emotions of a human being. Conde Nast has a SOUL.

The top is just plain conde nasty to me. I never liked the disorganized mishmash...looks incomplete (reminds me of scaffolding).

__________________The opposite of political correctness is not unvarnished truth-telling. It is political expression that is careless toward the beliefs and attitudes different than one’s own. In its more extreme fashion, it is incivility, indecency or vulgarity. These are the true alternatives to political correctness. l